The Fox and The Knight
by munozar5
Summary: they say love is deaf, dumb and blind. And no tale tells that better than this! A story of a female delphox named Fluerette, who longs to make a brave knight her lover. Will she succeed in her romantic quest or will she end up having her heart shattered by the mace of reality? Come and join Fluerette the delphox, Lebaron the knight, and Montreal the Meowth to find out!
1. Chapter 1

It was a warm spring afternoon in the outskirts of Santalune City, as two children around the age of 8 years old were playing in the bright green fields. One of the children was a large, strapping boy with ruffled brown hair and fair yet speckled skin. The girl on the other hand was small and petite with long silky, black hair and olive skin. A game of tag was being played by the youngster, and it seemed that the girl was the one who was "it". She seemed to be having a great deal of difficulty trying to catch her much more athletic friend.

"Yahh!" "Ehh!" the girl grunted as she tried to tag her playmate.

"Ha ha ha! Gonna have to do better than that if you want to catch me Bella!" the boy shouted.

In every which way, he either outran her or maneuvered around her striking hands. After about fifteen more minutes of the game, the children started to grow weary and decided to rest for a moment under the cool shade of a large oak.

"Lebaron I'm bored with this game, I want to go home and finish the book I'm reading…" Bella said this while crossing her arms.

Lebaron then looked up from his comfortable position on the grass and said "come on Bell, why would you want to read one of those dull, dusty, old books of yours on such a great day like this?.." he then laid down and gazed at the clouds, smiling at all the funny shapes his eyes could point out. Bella sneered at Lebaron's comment.

"Just because you can't pay attention to a novel for more than two seconds doesn't mean that the books are dull. A lot of the stories are fun to read." She stated calmly while laying down in the grassy field herself.

"Wouldn't ya rather be having fun instead'a of reading about it?" Lebaron curiously glanced at his friend as he asked the question.

"Reading is fun" Bell responded.

"Eh, well when I become a knight one day, I'll be the one going on my own adventure and making my own stories! I'll be off fighting battles, traveling the land and befriend all different kinds of Pokémon…" As Lebaron ranted on about his fantasies of the future, Bella rolled her eyes and got from her spot in the field to leave.

"Goodbye Lebaron I think I'll see you tomorrow." The boy soon turned his head to see his friend walking off towards her quaint manor.

"Hey wait Bella are you sure you don't want to play a little longer?!"

"No…"

"Well maybe we can get some sweets or something from the bakery? My treat,"

"No Lebaron, goodbye…"

"Well maybe…"

"Squire Lebaron! Time to get back to training!" a deep voice boomed as the young lad looked around in its direction.

"Coming! Bye Bella see ya tomorrow!" Lebaron gave a quick wave to the girl and dashed off to continue his training. Bella chuckled at seeing her comrade scurry to his master….

As Bella approached her stately home, a servant opened the door for the young mistress to enter. "Good evening my lady. Did you have a fun playing with that little friend of yours?" The servant asked kindly.

"It was alright but I'd rather be here reading," Bella stated.

"Oh by the way I think your father wants to see you, he has something important to show you." The man-servant pointed towards the stair-case to the master bed room.

"Very well, I'll be right up to see him. Thank you Aceline." Bella ascended the stair case to see what her father could possibly want.

The door creaked opened as Bella poked her head out the side "Papa, did you need me for something."

A large, rotund man wearing a purple tunic and dark green leggings turned to greet the girl addressing him. "Ah! My sweet Bella, please come in." Obeying her father's request, Bella entered the master bedroom. She looked at her father curiously inspecting her his grinning, jolly, mustached face. "Bella my love, I'd like you to meet your new personal maid," her father moved his fat body to reveal a small, beautiful girl around the same age as Bella, shyly standing in the corner with her hands tightly clasped over her dress. Bella stood there stunned and gazing in awe at her new servant girl.

"Her name is Agathe" Bella's father added as he lightly nudged the two girls closer to greet each other.

"G…g..good evening my mistress, I am happy to be of service to you" Agathe said this while curtsying to her new master.

Bella blushed and looked away from the polite formalities, "oh yes, the feeling is mutual."

Bella's father seemed to be quite pleased with the introduction of his daughter's new servant, "alright Agathe, I still need to show Bella one more thing, please if you could leave us in privacy."

The small girl then curtseyed once more to both her superiors and left the room in silence. Bella glanced one last time at her servant as she exited the door. "What else do you have to show me papa?" Her father's giddy smile grew even larger as he walked across the room to grab a large basket with a bright, red bow tied neatly on the handle. "Here you are my dear!" He hastily handed the basket to the surprised little girl before him. She eyed the present wearily looking before setting it down.

"Go on look and see what it is!" The father pressed on waiting in anticipation.

"Papa if this is another prank I'm going to be very cross with you," she said while casting a suspicious glance at her parent.

She slowly lifted the lid of the present to see what was inside. Much to her surprise it was a small, Fennekin soundly slumbering on the comfy pillows beneath it. "Oh papa it's a beautiful, little Fennekin!" She squealed with delight as she tightly hugged her father. He happily embraced his daughter also giggling with joy. "Yes my dear, I bought her from the finest breeder to make sure that my little princess would have the best companion with her." Bella looked at the adorable little fox Pokémon as she slept.

"She's perfect papa, I'm sure we'll be the very best of friends. Right Fluerette?" The tiny vixen yawned in reply.

The next day Bella and her new Pokémon decided to pay Lebaron a visit. She approached a large Inn in the middle of town with the Fennekin walking briskly beside her heels. She pulled open the large doors to the Inn looking around for her friend. Fluerette started to sniff around curious with her new surroundings. She could smell the aroma of all types of meats, vegetables, and pastries' that made her long tongue lap out of her mouth.

 _"_ _Hmmm… it smells so yummy in here I hope my lady brought us here for a snack!"_ Fluerette thought hungrily as she licked her lips.

She was about to make her way near the heavenly foods until she saw a plump, bearded man dressed in a metal suit come out of one of the rooms in the Inn; behind him was a young, brawny boy with messy brown hair carrying his sword and shield.

"Lebaron hey over here," Bella waved as she called her friend over to her. Both Lebaron and his master looked over at the young girl beckoning them to approach her.

"Ahh… So this is the little girl you've been caught up with eh Lebaron?" The knight asked his pupil all the while slightly smirking.

The boy blushed a deep shade of red at his master's comment. "Y-yes Sir Eban, she's my friend Bella, daughter of Lord Jeann."

The boy then shyly looked down at the tavern floor to hide his embarrassment. The knight looked surprised as he realized the status of the girl.

"Ah I see, well I'll let you off for the day so you can spend time with your little girlfriend", Eban said as he took his sword and shield from the young squire, playfully nudging him in the process.

As Bella heard this she made a revolted face at the idea of her and her male associate in a relationship, Lebaron on the other hand was squirming with discomfort, not able to look at Bella in the face.

"Well I'll leave you to it lad, when you are done just come back to the Inn alright." The knight soon exited the Inn to go off and prepare for his training. The two children watched the knight leave and then Bella spoke up, "I see your master enjoys publically humiliating you…"

"Oh no he's really a great man he just likes to poke fun every now and then, he's like a second pa ta me," the boy said while turning to his friend. As he looked at Bella he soon noticed the small, yellow fox sitting patiently by her heels.

"Hey who's lil' Fennekin is that?" Lebaron looked curiously at the Pokemon.

Fluer seemed to take slight offense to his question and glared back at him. Bella chuckled "she's mine, just got her yesterday from my papa." Lebaron kneeled down to Fluerette's level to inspect her more closely.

"Aww she's kinda cute, the little girly", he said as he extended his hand to pet.

 _"_ _Girly? Who does this lout think he is, calling me girly?"_ Fluer thought as she snapped her small jaws at his outstretched hand.

"Hey watch it there little lady", Lebaron said as he jerked back his hand.

Bella simply smirked at the actions of her Pokemon, "easy there girl, be nice…" Fluer looked up and at her mistress and then back at Lebaron, she then let out a frustrated huff of smoke from her snout.

"So does she have a name?" Bella then looked to Lebaron and said "yes her name is Fluerette."

The fox Pokemon then puffed out her chest and gave a dignified and proud yip. Lebaron chuckled, "heh cute" he said.

"So Lebaron, shall we go to the bakery now?" Bella asked as she began to head out of the Inn with Fluerette following her. The boy's eyes soon widened as he hastily trailed behind, "oh yeah! Sure I'll buy!" She grinned at his reply, "I know".

After a long afternoon spent with Lebaron, Bella finally decided to call it a day and return to her manor, much to the delight of Fluerette and the objection of her friend. Lebaron begged Bella to stay just a bit longer while Fluer bit down and tugged at the bottom of her dress, obviously signifying that the tiny vixen was ready to leave.

"Im sorry Lebaron, but I really must go my father will begin to worry about me, besides Fluer is ready to leave anyway," she said as she picked up her Pokemon.

"Oh ok… Well goodbye Bella…" Lebaron replied with a disheartened look on his face.

"Goodbye Lebaron." Bella called out.

" _Bye bye Lebaron"_ Fluer thought happily as she was being carried off to the manor by her human companion.

After a short walk back to the manor, Bella and Fluerette decided to retire to the library room of the home. Bella was reading a romance novel out loud to Fluer who was listening intently to the story. This particular tale was about a poor, servant girl who was in love with a handsome noble man yet his heart was set on her mistress. The fox Pokémon was fascinated by the novel's characters and how tragic of a situation they were in. She particularly sympathized with the peasant girl, as she had to watch her one, true love court another woman. The two were now getting to the meat of the story when one of the great doors leading into the library opened up to reveal the small, shy servant, Agathe.

"H... h..hello" Agathe stuttered as she entered the library. "Lady Bella, are you in here?" she carefully treaded through the rows of giant shelves filled with books until she heard her mistress speak.

"Yes Agathe, over here!" The servant approached the young lady and her Pokémon timidly.

"My lady your father has sent me to inform you that dinner is soon to be ready…" as Agathe said this she lowered her gaze so not to meet eye level with her superior.

Bella giggled at the display finding it cute, she then walked over and placed her hand on the poor girl's shoulder.

"Heheh… Come then, let's not keep my father waiting." Bella then took Agathe's hand, which shocked and embarrassed the maiden, and led her out of the library leaving a confused Fluerette behind.

 _"_ _Wait, is Bella just going to leave me sitting here waiting? And why was she holding that girl's hand?"_ The Pokemon thought about this as she rushed out to accompany her owner.


	2. Chapter 2

As the years passed Bella, and Fluerette grew closer to one another. The Pokémon was determined to accompany her mistress anywhere she went, whether it be the market square, the fields near Santalune City, or even the training grounds where Bella would often visit Lebaron, much to the dismay of Fluerette. It seemed that Fluer found the bumbling squire to be a bit of a nuisance and would often regard him with extreme indifference. Anytime that Lebaron attempted to pet or touch the fox, she would either emit a high pitched screech to signal her discomfort with him or simply outright attack him. There was one time when the boy playfully tickled her back only to receive a nasty bite on his hand. Fluerette didn't seem to be interested in the companionship of anyone other than Bella. She even avoided interacting with other Pokémon as much as possible and absolutely hated it when her mistress gave any who weren't her attention. This led to Fluerette getting into quite a few scraps with other Pokémon, as she would constantly stop them from getting anywhere near Bella. However this attitude does have its usefulness.

One particularly sunny day an early teenage Bella decided to take a stroll through the gardens near the manor. The two were simply enjoying the day as they looked at all the flowers in bloom as they decorated the hedges with vivid pinks, and purples. As they strolled along Bella picked up a small stone that was in the way of their path and tossed it into the bushes. Suddenly a loud, piercing squawk sounded off from the shrubbery. Both Bella and Fluerette turned around to come face to face with a large, disgruntled fletchinder flapping its way out of the bushes. It eyed its provoker with an icy gaze ready to attack. The fire bird then flew towards Bella ready to attack her with its outstretched talons; it would have succeeded in its attack if not for a barrage of tiny flames that hit its face throwing the bird off course. The Fletchinder screeched again as it recovered from the attack and looked for the Pokémon responsible. A small Fennekin then jumped at the bird Pokémon in another attempt to attack, this time however the Fletchinder was ready. It elevated its self in the air just high enough to avoid the attack from the fox and countered with strike from its beak. Fleur yelped in pain as the sharp tip of the fletchinder's beak connected with her back, sending her plummeting to the ground.

 _"_ _Ow! Ignore the pain, I must protect Bella!"_ the fox Pokémon thought as she slowly rose to her feet.

 _"_ _Take this!"_ the Fletchinder screeched as it swooped down and landed another direct hit on the Fennekin, who cried in pain.

The angry bird continued to attack Fleurette relentlessly, and showed no signs of letting up. Bella watched in horror as she saw her beloved Pokémon get beaten to a pulp by this brute of a bird. Finally Bella could stand it no longer and cried out,

"Stop it! Stop it! Leave my Fleur alone you monster!"

The Fletchinder turned its attention away from the barely conscious Fennekin and to her owner. It quickly spread its wings, as it prepared to launch a full frontal assault on the young teen. Fennekin watched, unable to move due to the extreme amount of pain, as the Fletchinder attacked her Bella.

 _"_ _No… No! I must protect my lady!"_ As fleurette began screeching this something happened. Her entire body began to glow, she could feel her health returning, her power getting stronger and her size increasing. She felt new strength return to her body and now she was ready to get back into the fray.

As the bird Pokemon tried to close in on the girl for another attack, a large blast of fire shot out and directly struck the Fletchinder literally stopping it dead in its tracks. Bella then glanced over to see not her little Fennekin anymore but a determined and very angry looking braixen in her place.

"F… Fl.. Fleurette?..." Bella asked bewildered.

The braixen simply gave a confident smile and nodded at her mistress before turning her attention back to the Fletchinder who was now attempting to snap itself out of the daze it was in from the fire blast. Fleurette then let out another flame thrower at the Fletchinder, who had just came two and was barely fluttering in the air. Once the attack struck again it knocked the fire bird straight out of the sky and onto the dirt path below. As the Fletchinder got up a second time it now realized the newly acquired power of its foe; it then took a good long look at the Braixen standing protectively in front of her human. The bird Pokemon debated on whether to continue fighting the fox but ultimately decided that it would be much less risky to leave this battle and live to fight another day. With this new decision the Fletchinder let out one last earsplitting screech and flew off in the opposite direction as fast as it could. Since the threat was now gone Fleurette returned her attention to Bella and helped her up off the ground. As she was being gently lifted from the dirt path, the girl embraced the fox Pokémon in a tight hug, burying her face into her soft furry neck.

"Oh Fleurette, you saved me, how can I ever thank you enough! My sweet, loyal fox you risked your life for me!" Bella cried into the shoulder of her Pokémon as she continued to praise and thank her. Fleurette was stunned for a moment but then returned her hug and lovingly yipped in response,

 _"_ _There's no need to thank me Bella; I'd do anything to protect you."_ The two then parted from their hug and went back to the manor to have their injuries treated.

A week had passed since the incident with the Fletchinder, and Fleurette was still getting use to her new form. Walking on two legs instead of four was definitely a huge change and one that she kinda liked. It was so much easier to multitask now that she had two hands/paws to spare all the time. The increased height was also a plus as it allowed her to reach things that would have been impossible in her unevolved state. It was also nice to at least feel closer to the level of her human masters. The only things she didn't like about her new form was that she had to start sleeping in her own bed as Bella said she was too big to still sleep with her. Also since she evolved it took quite a while for the servants to get used to her new look as she constantly was mistaken for one of the servant Pokémon for the past couple of weeks. It was quite annoying to have house maids and butlers trying to get her to cook, sweep and do other chores around the manor. Even Bella, at times, started to ask her to do tasks like fetching her clothes or make her tea. While Fleurette didn't exactly enjoy doing these things it did please her to see her mistress happy. Fleur had also matured a bit from her evolution; she had become much calmer and less needy for attention. Fleurette stopped getting into fights whenever her mistress showed affection towards other Pokémon, she had even become slightly more tolerant of Lebaron. Bella, much like her Braixen had also changed in many ways; Bella had grown taller, and definitely started to fill out (particularly in the chest area). Her face had lost some of its cute childish appearance and formed into a slender and beautiful visage. Her silky, black hair grew in length and she now kept it in a tightly laced bun. She now wore a long, red, elegant gown instead of the frilly, pink dress she had as a child. Bella's personality had changed as well; she had grown more refined and regal as she aged, her interests now consisted of reading (primarily), chess, politics, and (sometimes) dancing. These hobbies seemed to suit both her and Fleurette, as the fox Pokémon was not a fan of the physical activities that she played as a young girl, especially with Lebaron. Fleur was content to sit and listen to her mistress read her ancient literature and old poetry, sitting near a warm roaring fire in a plush, and comfy seat, sipping on tea and nibbling on delicious horderves made by the manor chefs. The company Bella kept became considerably more feminine as well. She did still keep in touch with Lebaron quite often, which still annoyed Fleur from time to time, but Bella also had a small group of hand maidens who would come to her rooms for socializing with her. Agathe in particular was one of them that Bella had a strong attachment to. At every dinner or public event Agathe would always be seated right next to her mistress just like Fleur, one could almost say that Bella was about as close to her personal maid as she was to her own Pokémon.

It seemed that the only person who hadn't changed much over the years was Lebaron. Oh Lebaron! The bane of Fleurette's exisistence! Lebaron basically looked the same as he did when he was a child just taller and brawnier. He did however get some pimples on his face due to puberty and had a small bit of stubble growing on his chin, both of which Fleur found disgusting. Everything else was the same, his happy, and cheerful demeanor, his low intelligence, his thick, messy, brown hair, and of course his active personality, which always clashed with Bella and Fleur's own. Fleurette couldn't even fathom how this brainless oaf was constantly able to convince her owner to join him in social outings. She couldn't even understand how Bella even liked his companionship. The memory of Lebaron reacting to Fleurette's new evolution was something that she would never be able to forget. He was so shocked with her new form that he literally gasped when he saw her. Not only that but then he tried to pet her even more and kept trying to touch the stick in her tail, or brush the skirt-like fur that surrounded her waist. But again Fleur had matured since her evolution and instead of crying or viciously biting the buffoon when he touched her she would simply move away from him or briskly slap his hand before he could reach her. Yes Fleurette found Lebaron every bit as annoying now as she did the day they met but luckly she had learned to deal with him better. Hopefully Lebaron would evolve like her into someone she could even remotely respect. But that was a thought that Fleur didn't get her hopes to high for.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a quiet morning in the manor; all the servants' dorms were vacant as all the servants were out either running errands or enjoying their time off at a local pub. Fleurette was sound asleep in her bed snuggling with the blanket trying to get comfortable. Everything was silent until something arose the Braixen from her sleep; "Fleur! Wake up, I need you for something!" Bella screamed. The loud bellow shocked Fleurette so much that she fell out of bed and landed face first onto the cold, stone floor. The door creaked open as Bella entered the room to see her Pokémon recovering from the little fall she had.

"Oh Fleur what are you doing lying on the floor, you have this lovely, comfortable bed to sleep in", Bella said.

Fleur gave an annoyed glance at the young woman across from her before rising and dusting herself off from the dirt on the floor. As she approached her lady she saw that Bella was clutching a small, burlap sack, which from the smell of it contained strange spices and salts.

"Here I need you to take this to Madam Maria's spice Shoppe in town, she's been badgering us for these samples for weeks. I would ask one of the servants to take it but all of them are gone."

Fleur nodded while wiping the sleep from her eyes as she received the package from her owner. Bella sweetly smiled as she said "oh Fleur I don't know what I'd do without you."

Fleurette rolled her eyes at this comment and got ready to depart.

Fleurette was briskly walking down the damp and muddy pathway back to the manor. Having already delivered the goods to Madam Maria, she was ready to get back to get back inside her luxurious home and out of the wet, cold streets. She was already planning what she would do once she was back at the estate; first she would draw herself a hot bucket of water for her to dip and clean her muddy feet in. Once she was done with that the next thing to do would be to make a pot of warm cider for her and her mistress to enjoy as they sat by the cozy hearth in the main room of the manor. The vixen's mouth watered at the thought of this, the taste of a warm bittersweet cider was always something that Fleurette enjoyed greatly. She was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she didn't notice the small wooper crossing her path. As Fleur carelessly trodded along the trail she stepped right on the little water type's tail, this of course caused the wooper to quickly respond to this pain by shooting a strong blast of water at the fire pokemon.

"Ahhh!" Fleurette screeched as she was being drenched, due to her being a fire type the cool water practically burned her.

She then made a leap to escape from the attack but as she landed at the right side of the path the muddy dirt gave way under her weight and caused her to tumble down the steep, rocky hill below. Everything was going around and around as the fox Pokémon kept rolling down the hill hitting, protruding stones and being scratched by horrible types of briars growing on the side of the hill. The last thing Fleur heard was a loud crack as she was finally knocked unconscious from hitting her head on a particularly large boulder.

"Ooohhh…" Fleurette groaned as she slowly began to stir from her black out. " _What happened, where am I?"_ She said as she slowly and gingerly looked around only to see that she was at the bottom of a large hill.

 _"_ _I must have lost footing and fell down here. I should get back to the manor I'm sure Bella is worried sick about me-Aaahhh!"_

As Fleurette attempted to bring herself to her feet she was immediately stopped by a sharp throbbing pain that shot through her right leg. She looked down to inspect what was wrong only to see that it was horribly battered and bruised, she attempted to soothe the aching by massaging her leg which resulted in even more pain. Tears started to form in the vixen's eyes as the pain grew more and more intense; _"help please anyone help! I've fallen down this hill and broke my leg!"_

She screamed at the top of her lungs hoping that some unexpected traveler would hear her. She kept screaming for about an hour panicking that no one had come to help her. Her vocal system was burning from the constant cries for help. Surely Bella noticed how long she had been gone by now, why hadn't there been any people sent out in search of her? Why hadn't Bella herself come looking for her? Had Bella just completely forgotten about her that quickly? These thoughts began to flood Fleurette's mind, and drove her to cry even more.

 _"_ _Oh how could she forget me, we're best friends, inseparable?!"_ She said through her deep sobbing.

 _"_ _No she couldn't have forgotten about me, she probably sent dozens of people into to town looking for me they just haven't been able to find me yet. That's all…"_

Fleur still tried to remain hopeful but the feeling was fading fast as more time went by. She made one last desperate cry for help before finally giving up the idea of anyone coming by to save her.

"Fleurette? Is that you?" at the sound of the person's voice the fox Pokémon's ears immediately perked up as she frantically looked around for the human who'd come to save her.

 _"_ _Oh thank you, thank you please help me out of this trench"_ Fleurette yipped with both relief and happiness, until she laid her eyes upon her savior.

Standing before her was the burly and buffoonish Lebaron, the one person she despised most in this world, the one human that she constantly tried to distance herself from. This one person was the one who came to her cries for help.

Lebaron kneeled down next to the injured braixen as he inspected her for wounds. He noticed that her right leg was grievously injured. The boy was about to grab her leg to check and see if it was truly broken until he felt a pair of soft, fury paws gently catch his hand and lead it away. Lebaron looked up to see a teary eyed Fleurette softly shake her head, whimpering at him not to touch it. The brawny lad then took the fox's tiny paws in his large hands and looked at her with a gentle but serious face and said

"Fleur I know it hurts for me ta touch it but I gotta bind it for you." The fire Pokémon gazed into Lebaron's eyes, completely astonished by the drastic change in his usual personality.

He began to search for some type of cloth to wrap the Pokemon's leg in, unfortunately though he couldn't find any so he had to resort to ripping off the long sleeve of his own tunic to use as a bandage.

For some reason Fleurette felt this strange feeling of trust towards the boy, as if she was in the presence of someone entirely different than the bumbling, idiot squire who was always pathetically begging her mistress to spend time with him. She felt as if the person who was treating her injuries was a strong, and heroic man who had selflessly come to save her in her time of need. Lebaron had just finished bandaging her broken leg and was now inspecting her to see if she had any other injuries that might need attending to. He then noticed that there was a small, scratch slightly bleeding on Fleurette's cheek.

"Here" he said as he took out a small piece of cloth from his belt purse and began to wipe the blood from her face.

"It would be unfit ta let a beautiful lady such as you, bleed."

Fleurette blushed at this compliment and evaded eye contact from the boy. She had these dual feelings of embarrassment and guilt build up inside her as she was being tended to. She felt embarrassed because of the attention, care and compliments Lebaron gave her (which she secretly liked), however she also felt guilty for how horribly she had always treated the boy in the past. Every time they met she would always look down on him (not physically of course) and act incredibly rude. When he tried to be friendly towards her she would coldly rebuff his attempts. When he offered her compliments and praise she responded with glares and snorts of disgust. She had been so malicious to this poor boy when all he ever did was treat her with kindness and respect. At this very moment Fleurette felt truly ashamed of herself and the petty grudge she had against Lebaron.

After Lebaron had finished wiping off her cheek he then placed one of his arms under her legs and the other arm behind her back and lifted her of the muddy ground.

"Now let's get you back to the manor so you can have that leg of yours treated properly." The two then began to make their way back up the steep hill, with Lebaron carrying Fleurette like a groom would carry his bride after their wedding. Fleurette was amazed with how easily Lebaron was able to carry her weight up such a steep incline without showing the slightest signs of fatigue, surely she weighed at least 45 pounds which is heavier than what most Braixen's weigh. The fox Pokemon suddenly found herself admiring the strength and heroic nature of her male companion as they got back on the path to the manor.

With all these thoughts going on in her head of how strong Lebaron was, or how kind and brave he was, Fleurette came to the stunning realization that she was almost certain would never happen. Lebaron had become a person she respected and now deeply appreciated.

There was a loud, thundering knock that came from the large doors which echoed throughout the entire manor. The servant who was usually in charge of opening the entrance of the home was now scurrying as fast as he could to the giant slabs of oak. The doors made a loud creak as the manservant peeked his head out of the opening, "who is it that wishes to enter the Manor of Lord Jean?" the butler then noticed the large boy carrying a small and battered Braixen with a bandaged leg in his arms.

"Hello sir, I am here to bring Fleurette home, she fell down a hill and injured herself. I think she broke her leg." Lebaron said this with the sternest face Fleur had ever seen on him.

The man servant quickly ushered the two inside as he frantically ran around the manor in search of the Bella, her father and a nurse. Since the door keeper was preoccupied with finding help, Lebaron carried Fleurette over to a nearby chaise lounge and gently laid her down on it. He then took a pillow from one of the other vacant seats and placed it under her broken leg to give her more comfort.

"It's what my mum did when I sprained my ankle one time, she said it would help relieve the pain" he said with a warm smile as he gently laid Fleur's limb on the pillow.

The fire fox just stared at Lebaron with loving, innocent eyes as the two waited for assistance to return.

Hurried footsteps could be heard pattering down the steps, "Fleurette! Fleurette!? Im coming, where are you!?"

A distinctly female voice rang out. Lebaron turned towards the direction where the yell was coming from, with excitement in his eyes.

"She's in here Bella, I got her here safe and sound!" Fleurette could clearly see the change in his personality when he heard Bella's voice. For some reason she felt saddened by this, perhaps because he would change back into the bumbling idiot she loathed to be around.

Then again she actually started to think about the how Lebaron was in the past and remembered that she had no true reason to even dislike him, especially now since he saved her; could it be something else that was bothering her.

When Bella and a group consisting of her father, Agathe, and a pretty lady with pink hair, wearing a white apron and gown entered the room; the first thing she did was run to Fleurette's side, all the while hugging her and smothering her with kisses.

"Oh Fleur, I'm so sorry this happened! I promise that I'll never let you go alone like that again! I'll always make sure you are with me or someone safe!" Bella kept embracing her pokemon until, Fleur let out a sharp yelp because her mistress had accidently put weight on her broken leg.

"Oh no, your leg…. Let's have the nurse inspect it for you." Bella gently put her hand on Fleurette's cheek waiting for her response.

The vixen looked at her mistress, then lebaron, and finally her leg before she nodded her head in approval. The pink haired lady stepped out from the group and kneeled down next to Fleurette.

"Hello Fleur, my name is Joy, and I'm here to take a look at your leg." She said as sweetly as she placed a hand on the fox Pokemon's lower limb. The Pokemon looked at the lady with a fearful expression but realized that it was for the best. Joy began to touch and prod her leg to see if it was truly broken. There were certain times that Fleur nearly attacked the lady because of how much pain she was being put through, but at every instant she was able to contain herself due to being taught proper etiquette. She simply had to clench her teeth and bear the pain.

"Here you can hold m'hand, if you like," Lebaron whispered as he offered it to the vixen.

Fleurette slightly blushed at this sweet gesture and moved her paw to grasp Lebaron's outstretched hand. As she took hold of it, the nurse suddenly poked a tender spot on her leg, making her grip tighten extremely. Fleur glanced at Lebaron with an apologetic look in her eyes, expecting him to show discomfort from her grasp, however much to her surprise the large boy didn't even flinch.

"Hmm… It seems that your leg is definitely broken…" the nurse stated as she placed Fleur's leg back on the pillow.

Bella then pulled her pokemon close to her chest as she again smothered her with affection while saying "oh my sweet Fleur, I'm so sorry this happened to you. I will make sure that you are waited on night and day until that leg of yours is fully healed."

The nurse smiled at the display of affection, finding it endearing. Fleur on the other hand found it somewhat embarrassing that her muzzle was shoved straight into her mistress' cleavage.

The nurse then called over Agathe who was holding a bag and took out a large bundle of bandages.

"The good news is that with the proper amount of rest and nourishment, she should be back on her feet in a matter of weeks." The nurse said this while bandaging the Braixen's leg.

The wrapping started from the top of Fleur's knee and stretched to the sole of her foot/paw only leaving her black toes visible. The vixen looked visibly disgusted as she glared at her cast.

"Now you'll have to have these bandages on for at least two to three weeks, until your bone has healed," the nurse said as she packed the rest of her supplies away and prepared to leave.

Bella again pulled Fleurette into a tight hug and said "oh thank you nurse Joy, I'll make sure that my little foxy is healed as soon as she can. Oh my sweet, little baby…"

The Pokémon's entire face turned red as her owner kept cuddling her. Bella's father then approached the both of them, "all right then let us take our little, Fleur to her room so she can rest," he said as he clapped his hands together.

At this signal two of the servants came fourth and lifted the fire Pokémon from her seat and began to carry her off upstairs, much to Fleurette's protest. Joy's eyes followed the two servants as they struggled to contain the fire fox until they turned a corner to get to the room.

The Nurse then turned her attention to the owners of the Pokémon, "you'll need to make sure she keeps off that leg or it won't heal properly," she explained with a very serious tone. The lord chuckled as he smiled at the nurse, "not to worry Joy she will be cared for with the utmost importance."

As the lord and the nurse were conversing, Lebaron approached Bella who was now sitting on the chaise lounge with Agathe close beside her.

"Hey Bella are you going to be alright," he said with concern in his voice. Bella suddenly realized that Lebaron was here the entire time and stood up to address him.

"Oh yes Lebaron, I'll be quite alright, thank you for asking. If anything I should be praising you for your heroism."

The squire then blushed at the compliment from his crush and replied "my lady, ya should never have to thank me for doing what any respectable soon-to-be knight would do."

Bella simply smirked as she was half expecting this type of answer from her friend. She knew that Lebaron had a naturally chivalrous personality. Bella began to leave until Lebaron reached out and grabbed her hand. She then looked down in shock with a slight mix of disgust as she saw that her slender hand was engulfed by this large mass of calloused flesh.

"By the way Bella if there's anything ya need at all, don't be afraid to seek me out for help," Lebaron said with a smitten look in his eye.

Bella slightly sneered at his noble gesture and answered, "uhh… Thank you Lebaron I will definitely come to you if I have any problems."

As she said this she jerked her hand from his grasp and turned to leave.

"Come along Agathe we must be off, I'm sure Lebaron has to return to his duties as a squire." Agathe was then grabbed by the arm and guided away from the boy by her mistress. Lebaron was left with a vacant expression on his face until he suddenly spurted out, "a-a-a… Remember if you need me for anything just ask!"

"I will", she replied.

"And I'll be sure to pop in for visit every now and then to check up on you and Fleur," he added.

"Alright," she said as her and her handmaiden started to walk up the stairs and out of sight.

An entire week had passed since Fleur had broken her leg, and it had been complete agony. The worst part of it wasn't even the pain or the humiliating cast on her leg. The worst part was the boredom. Most of the time she simply sat there in bed all day with absolutely nothing to do. While she would consider herself more of a spectator rather than a player when it came the actives of everyday life. Even she had her limits when it came to staying cooped up all day in her room. Bella would come in and read to her from time to time, however those times are not as often as she'd like due to the responsibilities that her mistress has. Fleurette was so bored that she herself even attempted to read, this proved to be more difficult than she originally thought. She didn't really have a strong grasp of the alphabet and had no knowledge of the pronunciation of words. So much of her efforts were in vain, however she did start to listen more intently at how Bella would pronounce words when she read to her so she could at least try and learn.

But despite her new interest with learning how to read she still felt the ill effects of cabin fever. She wasn't even able to leave her room for breakfast, lunch or dinner; all her meals were brought to her by the servants and elaborately laid out for her in bed. This was one of the few things she actually enjoyed. The only time Fleur was ever able to go out of her room was when she had to use the lavatory. This was quite embarrassing because she had to call out for one of the house servants to come in her room, pick her up and carry her to the garderobe portion of the manor and then be placed on the seat. Of course the servants would leave the chamber to give her privacy but they would usually stand right outside the doors to wait for her to relieve herself until they heard a yip or bark calling them back in to retrieve her.

Yes everyday was a boring struggle for Fleur, with no fun or delightful times to be had. Well that's not entirely true… Every once in a while Lebaron would come to the manor in his spare time and pay her and Bella a visit. Some days she would be sitting in her bed with her bandaged leg propped up and watch her toes flex back and forth in the cast; bored as usual, then unexpectedly a smiling, pimply face with messy, brown hair would pop into the room. Lebaron would then enter the chamber and ask Fleurette how she was doing and make general small talk with her. Well it wasn't really small talk more like him talking and her listening, seeing as she couldn't communicate back and would often respond with simple gestures. Despite this minor setback in communication she greatly enjoyed his company and listening to all the stories and jokes he told, no matter how ridiculous or stupid they were. She also loved it when Lebaron tried to make her situation more comfortable such as fluffing her pillows or scratching an itch that was just out of her claws' reach. It made Fleurette's heart slightly flutter to know that Lebaron not only cared about her wellbeing but also enjoyed her company. Yes these few times that Lebaron came to visit her almost made up for all the other days she was left stranded in her room. Fleurette was surprised of how fond she was growing of Lebaron but she didn't question it too much; she would usually shrug off these feelings and assume it was because he saved her or that she was just starting to share the same opinion that her mistress has of him. But lurking deep in the depths of Fleurette's mind and heart was a much more intimate feeling. A feeling that would only grow stronger as more time passed.


	4. Chapter 4

The three weeks were finally over and Fleurette was finally able to shed the bandages and use her newly healed leg. It was slightly awkward walking on her right leg again because she had kept off it for so long, but after the first couple of days, when she was able walking around the entire manor properly, she could barely even sit still for more than an hour. Now that Fleur was able to walk again, she realized just how much she had taken for granted. She now truly valued her own mobility and showed this by taking up a more active lifestyle. She now spent much of her time walking around the manor garden or taking a trip to the local town every now and then (with an escort of course). Fleur even started to interact with the servant Pokémon around her home; she would occasionally join them in the games they would play in their free time, or on a picnic in the lower fields near the manor. Much like Bella, the fire fox now had her own group of companions that would accompany her on many social outings.

While she did have many Pokémon in the manor that she was on friendly terms with there were really three that she was particularly close to. One of them was Lezard the Heliolisk, a bit of a stuffy fellow but he really did have the Vixen's best interest at heart. The second was Audrey the Gourgeist, a nice girl but she tended to have a bit of a mischievous side to her and had a knack for causing mayhem. And finally was Sylvie the young Sylveon, a sweet and gentle soul who seldom showed any type of aggression towards anyone, not even to the people and Pokémon who gave her trouble. Anytime that Fleurette didn't spend learning to read or in the company of Bella and sometimes Lebaron, she could be found socializing with those three.

Usually when they have their little get togethers, Audrey would try to get Fleurette, Lezard, and Sylvie to partake in her pranks on the fellow servants in the manor. Of course Lezard being the uptight Pokémon he is, would often scold her for these plans and would lecture the three of them about the proper way they should conduct themselves. Fleurette would simply ignore the Heliolisk's reprimands having no interest in his advice. Audrey, on the other hand would immediately argue with him while using some "un-suitable" language towards the reptile. Sylvie, being one who is not too fond of seeing her friends fight, would try to intervene and cool down the situation. Most of the time Fleurette would simply watch at how the three contrasting personalities played off of each other, to be honest it was quite amusing to see her friends bicker sometimes (within reason).

While she did enjoy the time she spent with her friends, her mind would still harbor back to Lebaron. Fleur would sometimes be lost in thought as the memory of Lebaron saving her constantly replayed in her mind. It seemed that the more Fleur thought about the boy the more infatuated she became with him.

It was a pleasant day as the Fleurette and her friends were strolling down a grassy meadow. As usual Lezard and Audrey were bickering over the activities that the group should do while Fleurette and Sylvie quietly watched as they walked beside them.

"No Audrey that would be most unbecoming of a lady like you or Fleurette and Sylvia to conduct themselves, a pastime that would better suit admirable Pokemon like us would be a game of chess or …"

"Oh come off it, Lezzy. Why do you always gotta pick stuff that's so boring to do?!" Audrey moaned out as she rudely interrupted Lezard.

This infuriated the lizard Pokemon, and made his frills around his neck puff out. "W-w-well! I! Y-you!"

Lezard stuttered as he was too angry to form a complete sentence. Sylvie became more concerned with the two cantankerous companions as the dispute grew more heated. She realized that at some point she would have to intervene before they came down to blows.

"Uh fleur do you think that we should break them up before things get violent?" The Sylveon looked at the Braixen to see what her response would be.

"Uhh?.. Fleurette?.." Sylvie's questions fell upon deaf ears as she saw her friend looking off into the distance with a dreamy expression on her face.

Again her mind wandered back to lebaron, as her friend tried to get her attention. She remembered how strong but gentle he was when he picked her to carry her to safety. How he was so selfless, and chivalrous to her. Lebaron had so many great qualities about him, he was funny, kind, serious (when he needed to be), and noble. While he wasn't the most handsome boy she'd ever seen, he was far from unattractive. There was a certain appeal to his appearance, with his stocky yet muscular frame and sweet face. Surely with all these desirable features he must be very popular with the local town girls. Oh no! The Girls!.. All this time Fleurette had been daydreaming about why Lebaron was so attractive, she never even considered the women that he would attract. Of course he must be the one of if not the most sought after boy in the village. What if he was already taken by a girl, probably some chippy on the lookout for a cheap thrill?! She would probably just use him for his status and money, not really treating Lebaron like the prince he truly is.

The fire fox continued to debate the terrifying thought of some girl obtaining Lebaron's affection until a white, pink tipped tendril touched her shoulder, and broke her from her trance. "Hmm… What Sylvie?" Fleurette said as she looked at her friend with an annoyed glare. The Sylveon somewhat shrunk back under the scathing eyes of the fire type. "Umm should we break up Lezard and Audrey before they fight?" she asked timidly before shifting her sight to the two arguing friends who look like they are about to rip each other's faces off.

Fleur cast a glance at the two but seemed disinterested with the entire situation.

"Eh let the two toddlers yell one off, they'll be fine…" as Fleurette said this she turned away from her trio of friends to continue her fantasies.


	5. Chapter 5

The summer had come to pass and winter was now approaching the city of Santalune. With the obvious decrease in temperature, Fleurette was much less active outside of the Manor, usually only leaving to accompany Bella on her trips into town. During the winter days she would spend most of her time cuddled up by a roaring fire place, with a nice hot cup of miltank milk. She would often bring a book to continue her practice in learning how to read. She had surprisingly learned how to read fairly well, as she had at least gotten a quarter of the way through the novel (even if the book was meant for small children).

It seemed that the stories Fleur loved most were ones that had to do with a gallant hero coming to save his one true love. Of course this would obviously remind Fleurette of Lebaron and herself. She was actually only reading to pass the time until Lebaron arrived at the Manor. Bella had said that he wanted to meet because he had some big news to tell her.

While Fleur was quite excited to see what Lebaron's announcement was, it seemed that Bella had much less enthusiasm. It seemed the mistress didn't really care either way if the squire came to tell her anything or not.

About an hour and a half passed till a strong, loud knock was heard from outside of the front doors of the Manor. Upon hearing this that, Fleurette threw her book to the side and leapt onto her feet as she ran towards the doors. As she got there she saw that a man servant was already opening up the large oak barriers, to reveal a large, cloaked figure walking into the main room.

As soon as the person was out of the cold, the hood of the cloak was pulled back to reveal the warm, and jolly face of the young squire.

" _Lebaron!_ " Fleurette yipped as she ran up and hugged his thick waist. The teenager looked down and smiled at the fox Pokemon.

"Why hello Fleur, it's good to see you too." He said as he wrapped his arms around the Fire type and hugged her back. The vixen looked up and barked happily in response to Lebaron. He chuckled at the sounds Fleur made, even though he had no idea what she was saying.

"Hey Fleur, could ya go get Bella for me I have somethin' I wanna tell ya both." The Fire fox looked up and nodded as she then dashed off to retrieve her Mistress.

She ran swiftly through the halls as she searched for Bella. After scouring nearly every room on the second level Fleur finally found her owner, sitting at a table and munching on some gingerbread with her handmaiden, Agethe. Fleurette wasted no time in interrupting Bella's midday snack, as she quickly grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her out of her chair.

"Ow Fleurette! What are you doing?! Calm Down!" But the vixen ignored the questions being thrown at her as she forcefully lead her Mistress through the hallway and down the stairs. Agethe also followed, as she was curious to see what Fleur wanted.

Lebaron was still standing in the Main entrance room, having a light-hearted conversation with one of the servants. That is until he heard Bella's voice. When he turned his head to greet her he saw Fleurette dragging her owner down the stairs while the lady herself gave a very annoyed glare at her Pokémon.

"Wow Fleur you really don't mess around…" Lebaron said somewhat shocked by the Braixen's quickness. The Fire fox simply beamed at the boy as she patiently stood beside her mistress and awaited for Lebaron to make his announcement.

Bella was still glaring at her Pokemon as she addressed her friend, "so Lebaron, what exactly did you want to tell me?" The large boy stood before the three girls, fidgeting a bit as he tried to think of what to say.

"Well ya see… Something has… Come up…" He said somewhat mumbling in the process. This got the three girls attention of course. _Come up?_ Fleurette thought as she listened intently to Lebaron.

"What has come up exactly?" Bella asked with a slight hint of concern in her voice.

"Seeing as how I'm a Squire still, I have to always go with the Knight that I serve." All three of the girls nodded in union as they paid attention to his words.

"Well because of this I'm gonna be journeying to Shalour City…" this information surprised the girls as they were not expecting the news to be this. "How long will you be there?" Bella asked.

"It seems that Sir Eban wants ta take up residency there. Says it'll be a good place to finish my training… So I guess I'm gonna be there for a while. At least until I'm a knight." Lebaron said this with a sorrowful look on his face.

This shocked the girls even further and each of them seemed to be interpreting the information in their own way. Agethe didn't really seem to care either way as she and Lebaron barely interacted, although she did find it somewhat sad that such an old, and close friend to Bella was having to leave for all of a sudden.

Next was Bella. While Bella herself was sad about the news, she did understand the circumstances of the situation. She will indeed miss Lebaron but she realizes that he will finally be able to achieve his dream. Also she still had other friends she could spend time with so it wasn't like she would be all that lonely.

Fleurette was the one who took the information the hardest. Unlike the other two who were either unconcerned or understanding of Lebaron's current departure, Fleur was utterly heart broken.

 _How could this happen to me? It wasn't fair! Why did Lebaron have to go so far away to finish his training? Couldn't he just stay here in Santalune, where I could visit him regularly?_ All of these thoughts were racing through Fleurette's head as she tried to grasp a hold of the situation. Tears were being too well up in her eyes as she continued to think about all of this. No she wouldn't cry; not right now; not in front of him.

After a few moments of silence from the group, Bella Finally spoke up, "Well Lebaron I guess this is goodbye for now… but I hope you do become a knight so you can come back and visit us." Lebaron nodded in response while slightly blushing.

"I'll miss you lebaron." At hearing those words Lebaron then pulled Bella into a tight hug. "I'm gonna miss you too Bell…" he said as he squeezed her even tighter hoping to let the hug last as long as possible. Bella was practically suffocating from the sheer strength of Lebaron's embrace.

"L.. Le.. Lebaron… You're… Crushing… Me…" She barely squeaked out as her face began to turn blue. Upon hearing this he immediately released, leaving Bella to gasp for air. "Sorry Bella I didn't mean to…" he said remorsefully.

"It's fine…" She said as she dusted herself off.

Lebaron then looked at Agathe and gave a slight nod while mumbling some parting words. The servant girl smiled and curtsied to show him respect. Finally Lebaron turned his attention to Fleurette, who had a painful expression on her vulpine face. He kneeled down so he could at least attempt to meet her eye level, "well I guess this'll be goodbye for now, sweet fox…" he said with a melancholic tone.

Fleur tilted her head down in sadness at hearing these words. Lebaron gave a sympathetic smile while put his hand under her chin and gently lifted her face to meet his.

"Don't be so down Fleur, I'm gonna come back when I become a knight." He said trying to sound as reassuring as possible. She smiled slightly at the thought of this but her mood still remained depressed.

Lebaron then stretched out his hand to give Fleurette one last goodbye. The fox Pokémon simply stared at his outstretched hand for a brief moment before pushing it aside and lunging at him. Much to his surprise, Fleur clung to his torso and buried her muzzle into his neck while she yipped her goodbye to him. _"Goodbye Lebaron, promise me you'll come back soon…"_

Unfortunately she forgot that humans can't really understand the language of Pokémon, so he completely misinterpreted the message. "Aww I'll miss you too Fleur…" He said as he returned her hug.

Now that all the final goodbyes have been exchanged it was time for Lebaron to accompany his master on the long journey to Shalour City. As Lebaron walked down the path that led way from the manor and onto the main road he gave one final wave goodbye to the girls before disappearing of into the distance.

Once the squire's form had vanished, both Agathe and Bella decided to retire back into the manor. Fleurette however remained, keeping her eyes firmly on the path in which Lebaron had left on.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been three weeks since Lebaron left and she had already slunk in a depressive state. There were some days that Fleur would just lay around one of the manor windows gazing out into the landscapes, just hoping to that she would see lebaron walking down the dirt road to visit her and Bella. Unfortunately, this never came to pass, and would usually end up with her falling asleep on the window mantel. Most of the time one of her three friends would have to come and wake her for dinner or take her to Bella's room. It happened so often that One of the maids jokingly suggested that they should make a bed on the mantels for the braixen. While Fleur found these jokes annoying her mind was much more preoccupied with the sad reality of lebaron's departure or more particularly the miscommunication between the two of them. It pained her to remember that Lebaron had mistaken her heartfelt request for a friendly goodbye. Fleurette loathed the fact that humans were unable to understand the language of Pokémon. Even her own mistress Bella could not fully understand Fleur, she would just understand simple gestures and expressions her Pokémon made. It was like a constant game of charades, a very annoying game of charades. She wished there was some way that humans could communicate with her. She had often wondered if it would be possible for a human to learn the Pokémon language, but after thinking on it for a few minutes she dismissed the notion. The pokemon language was not something a non pokemon could really learn (at least not completely). The language was more based on types of sounds and noises the pokemon make that humans could not, which means that without the proper understanding or rather instinct a simple sentence could be muddled quite easily. It really is a shame because there was so much she longed to discuss not only with Lebaron but with Bella as well. She supposed that drawing pictures would be a better way of communicating with them. Writing could also be useful… Writing! Of Course! How could she not have thought of this before?! She could just write what she's thinking or how she feels. That was probably the most direct way of communication with humans. Or better yet she could learn how to speak the human language. Yes obviously, she had already learned how to read… Kind of. Speaking would be the next logical step. Fleurette could just imagine how wonderful it would be to finally be able to have a heart to heart conversation with Lebaron. She finally can tell him all about herself and her interests, maybe even be able to find out more about him. She would also be able to have a chat with Bella and maybe finally tell her how much she disliked doing some of her chores for her. Also, maybe she could finally get Bella to stop making her massage her feet. All these new possibilities of what the future could hold were all too tempting. That's it from this point on, Fleurette would dedicate all her spare time to learning the human language.


	7. Chapter 7

Lebaron and his master had been trekking through paths in the wilderness for about three days now. This new journey had been a surprisingly boring one, as they scenery had been nothing but rolling plains, trees, and the occasional mountain. He was a bit disappointed since he was expecting there to be all sorts of dangers on the road, like a horde of bandits or thugs. Heck, Lebaron would've even settled for seeing some wild Pokémon or something to break up this boring monotony. But no, it was just a dull and dreary march to Shalour city.

After a few more hours of walking, Sir Eban had finally decided that it was time to set up camp for the night. Lebaron soon found himself gathering fire wood for the campfire, while his master began preparing the food for cooking. As he finished picking up the last of the twigs for the campfire, he heard a strange rustling sound in the bushes.

"Huhh… Anyone there?" Lebaron asked with a curious and somewhat worried tone.

A blur darted from the bushes and leapt quickly behind a tree, nearly scaring Lebaron half to death.

"Ahhhh!" he screeched as he dropped his bundle of twigs onto the ground.

"Gahh! What was that?!" Lebaron gasped all the while keeping his eyes firmly located on that tree.

After about three full minutes of watching the tree for any signs of movement, he finally decided to re gather his bundle and head back to camp. Hopefully before he encounters anything else in the darkness.

The young squire soon made his way back to the resting site and was greeted by his superior. "Ah Lebraon, lad, what kept ya?" Sir Eban asked with a puzzled expression.

"Eeeh… thought I saw someth'in lurk'in in the forest. "the squire said as he cast another suspicious glance towards the wooded area.

"Well this is the wilderness so we're bound run into a few Pokémon along the way." The knight said as he finished stirring the pot of herb stew. "Now come on lad, soups on; let's eat!"

While Lebaron was still a bit shaken by his recent encounter, he couldn't deny that his stomach was roaring for some form of substance to digest. He soon sat down with his master and they began feasting on their meal. All while being unaware of two large eyes carefully watching them from behind the bushes.

Once dinner was over the two travelers decided to get ready for bed. Lebaron wasn't a huge fan of sleeping out in wool slumber rugs. They were hot, itchy and not particularly comfortable; however, it was better than sleeping on the cold and dirty ground he supposed. As he lied down in his makeshift mattress, he began to riminess on the memories he had of his friends. He thought about all the good times he shared with some of the local children and pokemon; he thought about his goodbyes to Agathe, Lord Jeann, Fleurette, but most of all Bella. He felt a pain in his heart at the thought of this. He truly did care for Bella and having to leave nearly ripped his heart in two. She was so sweet, and kind, and pretty and… Lebaron continued to ramble on and on in his head about how great Bella was until he heard another ruffle from the forest. The squire jolted his head in the direction of the noise, trying to see if he can identify the creature. Again, he saw nothing but darkness, feeling his eyelids grow heavy he gave one cast one last glance at the woods before drifting off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Morning had soon come, and with it the gleaming rays of the sun which shined brightly over the land. Lebaron was sleeping soundly in his wool rug, that is until he heard a loud clashing and clanging sound near his bed site.

"What was that?!" Lebaron said in a frightened state.

Lebaron got to his feet as quickly as he could, he soon felt a horrible chill run down his spine. He searched his surroundings to see if he could find out where this dreadful noise was coming from. As he continued looking around the campsite, he saw that the cooking pot that held the rest of the herb stew was turned over and shaking around.

"What the?" Lebaron whispered as he quietly approached the rumbling pot.

He leaned over to try and get a glimpse at whatever was in there. As peeked inside of the pot he found a small feline gobbling up as much of the food as it could. It seemed that the small Pokémon was either completely unaware or unconcerned that it was being watched by a human. Lebaron didn't know whether to be amused or outraged; on the one hand, it was hilarious to see such a small creature eating so much food in so little time, on the other hand that stew was the only food that he and his master had until they were able to get Shalour City. After a couple, more seconds of watching, Lebaron had finally decided that he needed to put an end to this Pokémon's feast before all the food was gone.

"Hey that's enough you're gonna eat all our breakfast!" The squire said with an annoyed tone, however, Lebaron was met with an equally irritated glare from the small cat pokemon.

"Rrroooww!" the Meowth yelled back as it continued to devour the soup.

"Oh no you don't, you're not gonna finish off all our food!" Lebaron exclaimed as he reached in the pot to grab the little glutton.

Before he could grab the Pokémon though, it leaped away from his hands and then latched onto his face.

"Mmmaahhh!" Lebaron yelled, though his voice was muffled by the small fuzzy cat Pokémon attacking him.

" _Thought yas could pull the ol' grab on me didja ya barmpot?!"_ The Meowth exclaimed as he continued to hold his grasp on the lad's face.

The scuffle between Lebaron and the Meowth grew louder as they began to roll around on the ground and crashed into Sir Eban's armor.

"What the?!" Eban said groggily as he woken from his slumber by all the noise.

The knight watched as his squire was squirming around on the ground trying to pry the angered Pokémon off his face. It looked as if the little scratch cat was putting up quite the fight as his squire was still unable to escape it's grasp. It was really quite humorous, but enough was enough.

"Mmmmaaahhhh! Gwet off mmmy faaace!" Lebaron screamed underneath the Meowth's furry body.

" _Take that ya stupid git!"_ The Pokémon screeched in response.

The two struggled for a few more minutes until some bit of powder was blown into both of their faces. Suddenly both Lebaron and the Meowth began to feel their bodies freeze up, their limbs no longer moved and their muscles felt like they were going into a spasm. The two quickly dropped to the ground, completely unable to move.

"Ha ha ha… Oh boy, you two were really goin' at it. Good thing I always keep a spare case of Vivillon stun spore." Sir Eban said with an amused look on his face.

"Gggreat idea ssssir…." Lebaron said through clenched teeth.

"Rrroooww…" The Meowth growled in irritation.

After all the intense feelings had died down, Sir Eban had made some healing potion to help cure both Lebaron and the meowth that had so viciously attacked him.

"Ehyuck this heal stuff tastes terrible." Lebaron said as took another spoon full of the pasty substance.

"It's not supposed to taste good it's supposed to heal you." The knight said with his back turned to his squire.

Lebaron cast a spiteful glance over to the Meowth, who was sitting next to him. The little scratch cat Pokémon was reluctantly shoving the medicine in his mouth. Lebaron chuckled to himself as he watched the Meowth's miserable circumstance. _Serves the little jerk right,_ the squire thought to himself.

Once Lebaron and the Meowth had consumed all the potion and had regained the feeling in their limbs, Sir Eban had packed up the camping supplies and was prepared to get back on the road.

"Well Lebaron you ready to get back on the road?" Eban asked casting a glance towards his squire.

"Absolutely! Let's get outta this place before any other Pokémon tries to kill us!" The squire exclaimed while glaring at the small Scratch Cat.

A chuckle escaped sir Eban, as he found the animosity between his protégé and the Pokémon both absurd and amusing.

"Now Lebaron this little fellow was just try'in to get a bit of food. Poor thing was probably starv'in… "

 _Heh, at least one of the two humans aint a complete bugger._ The Meowth thought as a smug grin formed on his face

"B-b-but he ate all our breakfast! And attacked me!" Lebaron stammered out with a bewildered tone.

"Now, Lebaron calm down. It's only a five mile walk to Shalour an' once we get there we can have a huge lunch."

"Big lunch?" Lebaron asked eargerly.

 _Big Lunch?!_ The Meowth thought as he perked up

"Of course, we can have some nice roasted carrot stew, and fine cheeses with freshly baked baguettes, alongside some lovely apple and pecha jams." The Knight began to explain.

Both Lebaron and the Meowth's mouths began to water at the thought of this.

"And we can't forget the nice Miltank milk that the Glossy Gardevior pub makes."

"hmmm. Yeah…" Lebaron dreamily groaned out.

 _Yeah!_ The Pokémon thought as he licked his lips.

"And let's not forget desert with some tasty ginger bread and some of those delicious cinnamon cakes." Sir Eban said with a sly smile knowing it would get certainly put Lebaron in a a much better mood.

"Well what are we waitin for?! Lets go!" the boy exclaimed as he hopped to his feet and grabbed his bag so he could join his master.

A smile grew on Sir Eban's bearded face as he began walking with his squire.

"Heh heh. I knew the idea of food would get ya up and ready. Alright lad lets head out."

As the two of them began walking towards their destination, the small cat Pokémon simply sat there and pondered on what the fat, older human had just said.

 _Hhmm… all that food does sound nice… but do I really wanna live with a buncha humans to get it?..._ The Meowth then looked around at the environment he was currently living in; the woods. While it wasn't a terrible home it certainly had its drawbacks. The first and foremost problem was that he had no shelter. Sure, he'd sleep in a tree every now and then but he wouldn't really call that a home. He also wasn't too fond of having to find food every day, especially with all the competition in the area. The worst part was none of the Pokémon had any interest in working together; they all had this 'every blighter for themselves' mentality. This was particularly annoying because it made it harder for him to get a free meal in a place like this. Ultimately, he had resorted to stealing food, which decreased his popularity even more with the local Pokémon.

The more and more the Meowth thought about it, the more inclined he felt to go with the humans. The life he had here was more work than anything else, the Pokémon here hated him, he had no family or friends…. Why did he stay around here again?

As the Pokémon kept pondering, he suddenly noticed that the humans were getting farther and farther away.

 _Well it's now or never_ , he thought.

And with that he leapt to his paws and scurried after the two travelers as fast as he could.


End file.
